Latest Sectors News

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated the government will decide on the Koppal steel plant after court rulings. The Baldota group proposed a 54,000 crore greenfield mill. This project faced local resistance despite all clearances. The Chief Minister previously asked the group to halt work. The government will now make a decision. View More

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the government would take a call on the proposed 10.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) steel plant in Koppal district after courts decide on the subject. The CM, responding to queries on the agitations over the proposed steel project, said there were cases pending in the court and the government would take an appropriate decision. Hospet-based Baldota group signed up with the government at the global investor summit in February proposing to invest Rs 54,000 crore on a greenfield steel mill with a production capacity of 10.50 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The project would add about 15, 000 new direct and indirect jobs, the group had said. But it has ground to a halt following local resistance. The CM had, in March first week, asked the Koppal district administration to direct the Baldota group to stop work on the steel mill. The CM’s direction came after a delegation of MLAs and MLCs, led by the district in-charge minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, gave him a memorandum opposing the plant. Live Events The Baldota Group’s proposed investment, interestingly, has received all clearances including from the Union Government and the state pollution control board, sources said. The company has acquired 1,000 acres of land and is planning to acquire another 2,400 acres for the steel mill. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Jindal Stainless launched its first stainless steel fabrication unit in Patalganga, Mumbai. The facility, built with an investment of Rs 125 crore, will serve the bridge sector. It aims to achieve an 18,000 tonnes annual capacity by FY27. This unit strengthens the company's infrastructure solutions. Jindal Stainless plans future expansion across India. View More

Jindal Stainless on Monday launched its first stainless steel fabrication unit built with an initial investment of approximately Rs 125 crore. The facility is located at Washivali, Patalganga, in Mumbai spanning 4 lakh square ft. Built under the company's subsidiary Jindal Stainless Steelway Limited ( JSSL ), the fabrication unit will cater to the needs of bridge sector and focus on fabricating, among other critical components, various types of girders. BY FY27, the unit is expected to achieve an annual fabrication capacity of 18,000 tonnes, up from an estimated 4,000 tonnes in the current financial year. With this, the company aims to meet the growing demand for sustainable, high-quality bridge infrastructure. "This facility marks a strategic leap for the company, strengthening its position as both a leading supplier of stainless steel material and a provider of end-to-end fabrication solutions for India’s rapidly growing infrastructure sector," the steel major said in a statement. Jindal Stainless, CEO & CFO, Tarun Khulbe , inaugurated the unit in the presence of other members of the company’s senior leadership. Live Events "Developing a trained fabricator ecosystem has long been a challenge in fully translating the excellence of sustainable stainless steel material into reliable, high-quality fabrications," Khulbe said. "With the launch of this facility, we are bridging that gap, by bringing together material excellence, skilled fabrication, and streamlined processes to deliver timely and superior infrastructure solutions.” Jindal Stainless Limited plans future expansion of the fabrication facility to other regions in India. Shares of Jindal Stainless were trading at Rs 765.45 per share after a 2.89% decline as on 11:14 on Monday. In FY25, the company reported an annual turnover of Rs 40,182 crore. It aims to reach 4.2 million tonnes of annual melt capacity in FY27. Currently, it runs 16 stainless steel manufacturing and processing facilities in India and abroad, including in Spain and Indonesia, and a worldwide network in 12 countries, as of March 2025. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Sudhir Maheshwari-led Synergy Capital acquired Saurashtra Fuels' Mundra plant, becoming a major independent metallurgical coke producer in India. This strategic Rs 2,000 crore investment aims to secure scarce raw material, with operations resuming by Q4 2025. Synergy also plans greenfield power generation and a ferro-alloy plant, leveraging the site's proximity to key ports. View More

Mumbai: A dealmaker who helped Lakshmi Mittal list his company in 1997 and raise multi billion-dollar financing to acquire Arcelor in 2006 is now looking to make a bet on the Indian steel industry. Sudhir Maheshwari-led Synergy Capital has acquired Saurashtra Fuels’ flagship plant in Mundra , becoming one of India’s largest independent merchant low-ash metallurgical coke producers. Synergy is an Asia-focused alternative investment manager. The Dubai-based Synergy has a strategic emphasis on India. Across funds, it has deployed $1 billion in private credit and equity in groups, and companies as diverse as GMR, Shapoorji Pallonji Group and JSW Cement. It is in the middle of raising a new $1-billion fund, half of which will be deployed in India. The Gujarat plant is the firm’s first buyout equity transaction in India. Maheshwari helped finalise the $34-billion deal that created ArcelorMittal , which had catapulted the company to the top of the steel industry. The acquisition by Synergy Capital is aimed at securing a scarce raw material in a structurally under-supplied metallurgical coke market, with the added advantage of proximity to the large commercial ports of Mundra and Kandla, Maheshwari told ET. Synergy is spending Rs 1,200 crore over three years to buy the plant from its erstwhile promoters — the Agarwalla and Sinha families — and refurbish it before restarting operations. After three decades of running Saurashtra Fuels, the two families decided to divest the plant in a strategic sale in August 2024. Live Events “Synergy Saurashtra plans to resume operations by the end of Q4, 2025,” said Maheshwari, founder and managing partner of Synergy Capital. “The restart of the Mundra coke plant is expected to ease bottlenecks for the sector by adding reliable, high-spec domestic supply, and strengthening India’s supply security.” Securing Raw Material He’s also keen to diversify into power generation and downstream production by investing in a greenfield ferro-alloy plant in the same location to leverage the site’s strategic location and proximity to India’s largest private port, Mundra. Including the planned power plant, the total acquisition and greenfield project cost is expected to be around Rs 2,000 crore. Synergy Saurashtra’s 250-acre coke plant site includes eight coke oven batteries with an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes. In the past, this plant supplied steel and industrial customers, including JSW Steel, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, Electrotherm and Hindustan Zinc, besides exporting to about a dozen destinations, including Japan, South Korea, the European Union and Brazil. “We also plan to consolidate and expand both the export and domestic footprints,” Maheshwari said. “The location next to the Mundra and Kandla ports enables faster, lower-cost inbound coal and outbound coke flows, improving working capital turns and margins.” At its peak, the plant produced about 500,000 tonnes of metallurgical coke and exported roughly 150,000 tonnes, making it among the leading manufacturers and exporters of metallurgical coke. India’s access to high-quality metallurgical coke remains constrained as rapid steel capacity additions have tightened availability of the fuel. India’s steel demand stands at 136 million metric tonnes; it is projected to rise to 220 mmt by FY30 and to 390 mmt by FY50, led by the automotive, construction and infrastructure sectors, driving a multi-year upcycle in raw-material intensity and merchant coke offtake. Low-ash metallurgical coke manufactured by the company finds applications in multiple industries such as steel (blast furnace route), foundries, copper, zinc and soda ash manufacturing. Using Waste-Heat Synergy will also be investing up to Rs 375 crore in a waste-heat recovery power plant, which would involve installing boilers and a steam turbine to convert the high-temperature off-gases from the coke ovens into production of 35-50 MW captive electricity. The commissioning is expected in early 2027. “Captive generation will lower the plant’s cost of electricity and improve margin stability. Waste-heat recovery displaces fossil/thermal electricity and cuts site energy intensity, contributing to lower CO₂ per tonne of coke produced and aligning with best-available-tech guidance in the coke value chain,” said Maheshwari. “Otherwise, the high-temperature energy generated by industrial processes would be vented to the atmosphere. In coke-making, waste-heat recovery turns oven off-gases and red-hot coke-cooling heat into captive power.” India’s national standards list non-recovery ovens among preferred low-emission procedures for new coke units. Downstream bets There is also a feasibility study underway for a downstream ferro-alloys plant to monetise captive waste-heat power, use inhouse coke as the primary reductant, and leverage the port-SEZ (special economic zone) for ore imports and alloy exports. The planned investment for this would be around Rs 250 crore, with commissioning also targeted by early 2027. Submerged-arc furnaces, the core smelting units that make a ferro-alloy plant work, are power-intensive at roughly 9,000–12,000 kWh per tonne, and electricity can account for 40–70% of production cost. Captive power materially improves unit economics. Co-locating next to the merchant met-coke plant ensures consistent nut-coke supply and quality, while port-side logistics compress cost-to-serve and cycle times. India Focus “Steel demand underpins the market, and the location offers export options,” said Maheshwari. “The SEZ’s ready infrastructure and flexible land use help us connect power, water, and the grid faster at the coke complex, shortening time-to-market and lowering delivered cost.” India remains the core focus for Synergy Capital, he said. The firm is in the process of raising its third fund of $1 billion for industrial and infrastructure sector investments in Asia, more than half will be deployed in India. “Our sweet spot is asset-backed, cash-flow-generating businesses where operating upgrades and capex can expand margins and protect the downside,” Maheshwari said. “Execution leans on industrial operating expertise and tailored structures for acquisitions, growth capex and working capital that traditional lenders often cannot provide.” Maheshwari spent nearly 30 years with LN Mittal in various responsibilities across corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and divestments, as well as risk management, before becoming his key investment manager, leading the family office. Along with Malay Mukherjee, another top Mittal aide, he was one of the people who worked closely with the family and was instrumental in building its global steel empire. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Tata Steel has an ambitious target to raise its domestic steel capacity to 40 mtpa by FY30. However, analysts are skeptical. Beyond the immediate Kalinganagar and Neelachal (NINL) expansions, the company has not announced specific capacity plans. View More

Vedanta Ltd plans a significant Rs 13,226 crore investment to expand its aluminium capacity to 3.1 MTPA by FY28. This move anchors aluminium at the core of its growth strategy, targeting an $8-10 billion EBITDA by FY28. View More

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd plans to pump in Rs 13,226 crore to ramp up its aluminium capacity to 3.1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by FY28, sources said. The current capacity of the company is 2.4 MTPA. Vedanta Ltd is anchoring aluminium at the centre of its growth strategy, with an expansion plan that will take capacity to 3.1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by FY28, sources said. The company is planning to invest Rs 13,226 crore over the next few years for this expansion, they said. Aluminium, the world's second-most consumed metal after steel, is becoming increasingly critical to electric mobility, renewable energy, urban infrastructure, and aerospace. Live Events Vedanta, the country's leading aluminium producer with over 50 per cent share in domestic market, is also set to ensure aluminium remains the single biggest contributor to its target of 8-10 billion dollar EBITDA at group level by FY28, as per its recent exchange filing. Vedanta's aluminium capacity will expand to 2.75 MTPA by FY26, and further to 3.1 MTPA by FY28, sources said. BALCO , in which Vedanta holds a majority stake, is also set to enter the one million tonne (production capacity) club, the company sources said. The mining major has been focusing on cost optimisation, bringing down its aluminium production cost by nearly 24 per cent, or 641 dollar per tonne, over the past 11 quarters, aided by backward integration across alumina with Lanjigarh Refinery expansion and coal mines, they said. Vedanta's aluminium business is supported by fully captive operations. This captive integration is not the global norm and provides Vedanta resilience in a volatile geopolitical environment, while underpinning low-cost manufacturing. The demand of aluminium in India is expected to be substantially higher due to projected high GDP growth in the coming years. Multiple initiatives of government like the 'Make in India', '100 per cent rural electrification', 'Housing for All', and 'Smart Cities' will boost the consumption of the metal in the country. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! "Aluminium is increasingly the backbone of the energy transition. With scale and integration, Vedanta has the ability to secure India's demand while becoming competitive internationally," an industry expert said. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Tata Steel faces a new demand of ?2,410 crore from Jajpur mining officials. This concerns an alleged chrome ore dispatch shortfall from its Sukinda block. The demand covers operations for the upcoming year. Tata Steel plans to legally challenge this claim. A previous similar demand is already contested in the Orissa High Court. View More

Tata Steel Ltd on Saturday said it has received a demand letter amounting to ₹2,410.89 crore from the Office of the Deputy Director of Mines , Jajpur, over an alleged shortfall in chrome ore dispatch from its Sukinda Chromite Block for the fifth year of operations, spanning July 23, 2024, to July 22, 2025. The authorities allege that the company failed to meet its dispatch obligations under the Mine Development and Production Agreement (MDPA). The demand is issued under Rule 12A of the Minerals Concession Rules, 2016. It includes both the sale value of the shortfall quantity and the appropriation of performance security. Tata Steel said that the demand lacks substantive justification and that it possesses strong grounds to contest it on both legal and factual merits. The company intends to pursue appropriate legal remedies before the relevant judicial or quasi-judicial forums. Live Events It added that a similar demand of ₹1,902.73 crore had been raised for the fourth year, which it had already challenged before the Orissa High Court . In that case, the court granted an interim stay on August 14, 2025, restraining state authorities from taking coercive action. The interim protection was further extended on September 2, 2025, and remains in effect until the next hearing. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Vedanta Ltd has extended the deadline for its planned demerger to March 31, 2026, citing pending approvals from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and other government authorities. The Anil Agarwal-led firm had earlier shifted the timeline from March 2025 to September 2025. View More

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd has pushed the deadline for its demerger to March-end next year as the approvals from the National Company Law Tribunal and government authorities are still pending, the company has said in a regulatory filing. The deadline was earlier extended from March 31, 2025 to September 30 this year. "Given that the conditions precedent in the Scheme, including approval of the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench (NCLT) and approvals from certain government authorities are in the process of being completed, the board of the company and the resulting companies...have decided to extend the timeline for fulfilment of the conditions precedent from September 30, 2025 to March 31, 2026," Vedanta had said in a filing this week. The approval of the demerger proposal will pave the way for the company's various business verticals to become separate entities. Vedanta Resources CEO Deshnee Naidoo had earlier exuded optimism that the demerger of its Indian arm Vedanta will be completed in the current financial year and stressed that her focus at present is on the restructuring of the company. Live Events The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had last month deferred the hearing on Vedanta's ambitious demerger proposal to October 8, as the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas objected to the scheme, citing a lack of necessary disclosures. The mining firm had earlier revised its demerger plan and decided to retain its base metal undertaking within the parent firm. Vedanta had earlier said post-demerger its existing businesses will be structured in six independent companies -- Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta Base Metals, and Vedanta Ltd. However, later it revised the plan. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! Vedanta Ltd, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Ltd, is one of the world's leading natural resources, critical minerals, energy and technology companies spanning across India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan with operations in sectors like oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, steel, and aluminium. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Swiss company Panatere inaugurated solar furnaces in La Chaux-de-Fonds to recycle steel offcuts from the watchmaking industry. This initiative aims to transform production waste into ingots using green energy, recirculating it locally. View More

LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS: A Swiss company inaugurated two solar furnaces on Friday in a watchmaking city, aimed at melting down and recycling the key industry's steel offcuts by using green energy. The Jura mountains form Switzerland's northwestern border with France, with the Swiss side home to multiple watchmaking companies and medical instrument manufacturers that use high-quality steel. The goal is to take their production waste and melt it down into ingots using concentrated solar rays -- then recirculate it to companies throughout the border region via a short supply chain. "I've been dreaming of this moment for 10 years," said Raphael Broye, the chief executive of Panatere , which specialises in transforming and recycling metal raw materials. La Chaux-de-Fonds is the cradle of Swiss watchmaking. Live Events Panatere will continue testing with local companies before opening a factory in 2028, either on site or in the Wallis mountains in southwestern Switzerland. The company hopes to be able to produce recycled steel using solar energy on an unprecedented scale of 1,000 tonnes a year -- thanks to furnaces where the temperature can approach 2,000 degrees Celsius. The site inaugurated on Friday is therefore "only a step", said Broye, who nonetheless intends to demonstrate that this solar technology is not just a concept but a process that can be used in industry. Prices soaring Some 148 scientists and professionals worked on the first prototype. It consists of a 140-square-metre heliostat covered with movable mirrors, and a dish with a 10-metre diameter that focuses the Sun's rays onto a crucible, where the metals are melted. In creating these prototypes, the company had to learn how to cope with the wind moving the mirrors, Saharan dust that occasionally reaches the Swiss skies, and temperatures that can drop to minus 20C in winter and exceed 30C in summer. "Nowadays, there is a real economic model to develop," Broye told reporters. "With the price levels and the scarcity of metals, we are able to find a position to make these projects profitable... even with Swiss wages," he explained, while handling shavings of copper, the price of which is skyrocketing. "This restores the prestige of short supply chains," he said, with high prices leading watchmakers and manufacturers to realise that with their production waste, they have "a treasure trove round the back of their factories". Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!

India's primary market prepares for a week of public issues. Five IPOs worth over Rs 28,500 crore will launch. Tata Capital and LG Electronics India are major offerings. Rubicon Research and Anantam Highways Trust InvIT also open. Mittal Sections will list on the SME platform. This period offers investment opportunities across finance, consumer durables, pharma, infrastructure, and steel. View More

India’s primary market is gearing up for another busy week with a strong line-up of public issues across segments. At least five IPOs worth over Rs 28,500 crore are set to hit the Street, led by Tata Capital and LG Electronics India . The showpiece offering will be Tata Capital’s Rs 15,512 crore IPO, opening on October 6 and closing on October 8. Priced in the band of Rs 310–326, it will be one of the biggest issues of 2025. Backed by Tata Sons, the non-banking financial company has a strong retail and corporate lending portfolio, and analysts expect robust investor interest given the group’s track record and sectoral growth outlook. Hot on its heels, LG Electronics India will launch its Rs 11,607 crore IPO on October 7–9. The price band is fixed at Rs 1,080–1,140 per share. The consumer electronics giant is among the largest in the country, and its market debut will be closely watched as one of the biggest foreign-owned consumer durable listings in India. Adding to the mainboard action, Rubicon Research, a pharmaceutical company, will raise Rs 1,377 crore through its IPO, opening on October 9 and closing on October 13. The issue is priced at Rs 461–485 per share. Live Events Also on the mainboard is Anantam Highways Trust InvIT, with a Rs 400 crore offering between October 7–9, which will provide investors exposure to India’s roads and infrastructure development theme. Together, the four mainboard issues account for more than Rs 28,500 crore of fundraising in a single week, underlining the continued depth of investor appetite despite volatility in secondary markets. SME segment The SME platform will see smaller action but continues to attract niche investors. Mittal Sections, a steel products company, is launching its Rs 53 crore IPO on October 7–9. Priced at Rs 136–143 per share, the issue will list on BSE SME. While small in size, such offerings have recently delivered strong listing gains, drawing significant oversubscription from retail and HNI categories. Outlook Market participants note that the strong IPO pipeline reflects companies’ confidence in raising capital even amid global uncertainties. Large issues like Tata Capital and LG are marquee names that can draw in institutional flows, while SME IPOs keep retail engagement high. With more approvals in the pipeline, October is shaping up to be one of the busiest months for Indian IPOs in recent years. For investors, the week ahead offers opportunities across sectors -- finance, consumer durables, pharma, infrastructure, and steel -- catering to a wide spectrum of risk and return profiles. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times) Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into cold-rolled flat stainless steel products imported from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. This probe follows a complaint by the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association, citing prima facie evidence of dumping causing injury to the domestic industry, including price depression and declining market share. View More

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies ( DGTR ) has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of cold-rolled flat stainless steel products from China, Indonesia and Vietnam. The probe follows a complaint filed by the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA), whose members include Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), with the injury investigation period covering FY22 to FY25. The product under review has a minimum nickel content of 6% and is available in coils, strips, sheets, plates, circles and other forms. According to the DGTR notification, the authority has found prima facie evidence of dumping of these products from the three countries and "injury to the domestic industry and a causal link between the alleged dumping and injury." The applicant companies have claimed that "imports are depressing domestic industry prices," with "market share of the domestic industry declining significantly over the injury period." Live Events India's stainless steel capacity stands at 7.5 million tonnes, according to industry estimates, with capacity utilisation at 60%. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)